I don't co-wash yet, I'm not going to start that until I am all done with the evil silicone conditioners lol. Right now I'm using a generic CVS baby wash, in which the main surfactant is Decyl Glucoside. The mousse I have (which I have decided to only use once a week, also until it is gone lol) has silicones, so I figured I'll low-poo and condition most the week, then use the mousse for vanity's sake once a week and use a sulfate shampoo (which I think does have silicones too ) a day or two after. I am really looking forward to getting totally on board with no sulfates and no silicones, but I have a tight budget so I have to do it in stages. But thanks again so much for the help! I finally feel like I'm getting a handle on this, and figuring out what to do. Side note, I found a semi-coil this morning!!

2a/b, high porosity, fine strands, average density, just about shoulder blade length

My hair loves moisture!

currently mod-cg , using low-poo and not totally cone-free yet. I'll get there though!

I completely understand the need to save money, lol! I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but I'm not sure the decyl glucoside is enough to remove the silicones from your hair; here's a link to an article about silicones and which cleansing agent's are good to remvoe them. What's the Scoop on Silicones?

2c/3a, botticelli/wavy/'swavy (huh?)

fine, dense, normal porosity/elasticity, dry climate

My favorite brands are Kinky Curly, As I am, Curly Kinks, Curl Junkie, and Darcy's Botanicals. Also love sealing with oils (loving argan oil right now) and styling with jelly products (KCCC is my current favorite). Mostly trying to keep it simple!

I was curious and referred to my favorite crafty cosmetic chemist, Susan Barclay-Nichols, who when asked (in a comment on this post) "are the gentlest surfactants like cocamidopropyl betaine and decyl glucoside able to wash away silicones?" says:

"If you aren't using tons and tons of it, yes. (When I say tons, I mean using a conditioner, leave in, anti-frizz, and heat protecting spray - especially the last one! - every single day.) If you're using that much, I'd include 2% cetrimonium chloride in your conditioner, which is a great silicone remover.

Even the most gentle surfactants are effective at removing silicones and other things that can film form. This is one of the reasons we don't see much build up on our hair from conditioners any more - gentle and mild isn't equal to poor cleansing"

I've followed her blog for a while, and she is uber-knowledgeable so I trust her lol. Of course, take that with a grain of salt, like she says this only works if you don't have a ton of build up! Hopefully that helps someone other than me too.

I started to look into non-ionic (decyl glucoside) vs amphoteric (cocobetain) but it got too technical for me lol...

At any rate, I think the main reason decyl glucoside may not be on that list on the page about silicones is because in most cases it is a lesser/complementary surfactant, waaaay down the ingredient list and therefore is often overlooked. In the CVS baby wash though, it's the 2nd ingredient in the list. Sorbitol is next (which wow, looking it up now I just found that it's a humectant!), then Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate which is another mild surfactant, also a derivative of coconut oil similar to cocobetaine, and is often used to remove minerals from hard water. So I just learned more about my cheapy low-poo than I knew before! Hooray for discovery! Incidentally, it also has citric acid and Dehydroacetic Acid, so that could be why when I tried to use it in conjunction with ACV my hair got fried!

2a/b, high porosity, fine strands, average density, just about shoulder blade length

My hair loves moisture!

currently mod-cg , using low-poo and not totally cone-free yet. I'll get there though!

I was curious and referred to my favorite crafty cosmetic chemist, Susan Barclay-Nichols, who when asked (in a comment on this post) "are the gentlest surfactants like cocamidopropyl betaine and decyl glucoside able to wash away silicones?" says:

"If you aren't using tons and tons of it, yes. (When I say tons, I mean using a conditioner, leave in, anti-frizz, and heat protecting spray - especially the last one! - every single day.) If you're using that much, I'd include 2% cetrimonium chloride in your conditioner, which is a great silicone remover.

Even the most gentle surfactants are effective at removing silicones and other things that can film form. This is one of the reasons we don't see much build up on our hair from conditioners any more - gentle and mild isn't equal to poor cleansing"

I've followed her blog for a while, and she is uber-knowledgeable so I trust her lol. Of course, take that with a grain of salt, like she says this only works if you don't have a ton of build up! Hopefully that helps someone other than me too.

I started to look into non-ionic (decyl glucoside) vs amphoteric (cocobetain) but it got too technical for me lol...

At any rate, I think the main reason decyl glucoside may not be on that list on the page about silicones is because in most cases it is a lesser/complementary surfactant, waaaay down the ingredient list and therefore is often overlooked. In the CVS baby wash though, it's the 2nd ingredient in the list. Sorbitol is next (which wow, looking it up now I just found that it's a humectant!), then Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate which is another mild surfactant, also a derivative of coconut oil similar to cocobetaine, and is often used to remove minerals from hard water. So I just learned more about my cheapy low-poo than I knew before! Hooray for discovery! Incidentally, it also has citric acid and Dehydroacetic Acid, so that could be why when I tried to use it in conjunction with ACV my hair got fried!

Originally Posted by tr3kkie9rl

Awesome - good to know. I have some low poos with decyl glucoside as the cleanser and didn't think they would be able to remove cones. I don't generally use silicones, but when I get my hair trimmed my stylist does. Thanks for the info

2c/3a, botticelli/wavy/'swavy (huh?)

fine, dense, normal porosity/elasticity, dry climate

My favorite brands are Kinky Curly, As I am, Curly Kinks, Curl Junkie, and Darcy's Botanicals. Also love sealing with oils (loving argan oil right now) and styling with jelly products (KCCC is my current favorite). Mostly trying to keep it simple!

Sometimes it's hard finding good products, and it would be nice to find a curl twin who has similar properties to help compare products and results. I guess bold whatever applies to you and look for others with the same(:

Sometimes it's hard finding good products, and it would be nice to find a curl twin who has similar properties to help compare products and results. I guess bold whatever applies to you and look for others with the same(:

Curl pattern: 3a with some 3b and 2c to make it interesting
Texture: baby fine
Porosity: low to medium
Density: thin side of normal
Elasticity: good
My hair is way frizzier since I've been CG, but my curl pattern is much stronger and tighter

Hair likes: Moisture! Coconut, shea, and more natural products.

Hair dislikes: most proteins (keratin is fine; soy and oat seem to be okay if they are WAY down in the list of ingredients), ANYTHING wheat-based, glycerin in any leave in products, still trying to figure out if other humectants are okay.

@Dresdendoll, Yay! lol...I was beginning to feel a bit lonely ;p what products do you use? What do you find the best for enhancing your curls? *curious!* (or should we PM this kind of thing...?) I guess I should go look at your sig block to see if you mention those things!

ETA ok I went and looked at your sig what is SM, please? Is that Shea Moisture? I don't think we have that in Canada...

Re-ETA: My products are not really very natural, I tried CGM and all-natural and it wilted my hair just doesn't work for me, I am glad it does for you! I still use low-poo as much as I can (Renpure Argan Oil) but my hair lacks hold, and the hold products I use (a TON) tend to wear off after an hour or so...

KurlyGurly, *some* of my hair is 3B (and one clump is 3C, and one is 4A! lol!)

So cool to know I have two hair twins out there - I never thought I would ever meet anyone with hair like mine...does yours have a mind of it's own, too?

I am curious if you or Dresdendoll have issues with hold - I can put in pounds of different hold products, and they don't weigh my hair down...in fact, they just evaporate and leave my hair soft and holdless lol! Does this happen to you two? Curious! If so, how did you solve it...?

ETA KurlyG, I just read your sig block and my hair hates many of the products you named! Wtf! LOL!

KurlyGurly, *some* of my hair is 3B (and one clump is 3C, and one is 4A! lol!)

So cool to know I have two hair twins out there - I never thought I would ever meet anyone with hair like mine...does yours have a mind of it's own, too?

I am curious if you or Dresdendoll have issues with hold - I can put in pounds of different hold products, and they don't weigh my hair down...in fact, they just evaporate and leave my hair soft and holdless lol! Does this happen to you two? Curious! If so, how did you solve it...?

ETA KurlyG, I just read your sig block and my hair hates many of the products you named! Wtf! LOL!

Originally Posted by Knotty_Maddy

Haaaa....my hair is pretty cooperative. I don't really have issues with hold. I DID, however, have issues before I stopped using silicones. The cones wouldn't allow anything to penetrate or work properly.